Thoughts about teens, tweens, parenting and this adventure of living on Earth in the 21st century.

February 1, 2009

President George Washington, age 57 from a forensic reconstruction

My fascination with old houses probably began one day when I was 9 and wandered through a wooded area at the end of my street. The trail led into a clearing where I discovered the remains of an abandoned old mansion. Pretty cool find! Ever since, I’ve been hooked on the challenge of what could be pieced together about a life from the clues people leave behind.

With American independence won, Washington figured he’d retire to his working farm on the Potomac River. But in less than four years, he was off to Philadelphia to preside over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the U.S. Constitution. And two years after that, in 1789, he was inaugurated as our first President. He served excellently for 2 terms – refusing to extend it to a third and thus setting a very wise precedent that two consecutive terms is all any US President gets. By all accounts, Washington was one of the top three of all times.

Done with public service in 1797, GW happily returned to Martha at Mount Vernon with the idea that he’d finally get to enjoy his home, his family, and his gardens. Unfortunately, just 2 years later, he died of pneumonia at the age of 67.

Inside the slave quarters at Mt. Vernon

Yes, Washington was a great man and as a nation we are incredibly fortunate to have had him as our first leader. But he wasn’t perfect. It might surprise you to know that Washington owned slaves. Probably not the way you want to think about him, but it’s true. And facts need to be remembered and factored into the mix for history to create a complete picture of the way things really were.

Here are some of the other sights from the wonderful and highly recommended Mount Vernon…

While we waited in line to get inside the house, we met a 9 year old girl and her mom. They were from San Francisco and pretty much like everyone else we’d talked to all week, they’d come for the Inauguration. I asked the girl why Obama’s election was important to her. Here’s what she told me:

Ella (age 9, San Francisco): I think it will be part of the future. If there is a first black American President… who knows? We could be president too one day.

We took these photos at Mt. Vernon Visitor Center. They’ve got a fabulous museum that includes an entire exhibit detailing the process involved in the forensic reconstructions of Washington. We had a great time there! http://www.mountvernon.org/

Wow ohy god, this was great, I like
Mt. Vernon, very nice thank you this,
I always wanted to know what mr. washington looked like
At a younger age, they should
Totally do somemore like when
He was a child, then teens,then
Young adult, amazing,now
As for martha I dont think
She was that big, do better
Next time you get someone
To play martha,

P.S. The slave qaurters or huts were
Huge,i didnt know they was that big,
Ithought they was always small,,,,but
I guess at that time, it depends on how
Nice the slave owner was and if he had alot of money
,but come on its Mr. washington he could
Do just about anything, but thought he was
Kindve sexy when he was in his 45, and
For some reason I always thought he was
Blonde not a brunette,that really shocked
Me, god bless thank you l had fun 🙂